Murdoch in All of Time and Space
by SeattleWhovian
Summary: Detective William Murdoch sees a new Police Public Call Box across from Station House No. 4 and investigates. He's surprised to see a tall man with wild curly brown hair and a toothy grin poke his head out of the door. EDITED, had to add Julia :)
1. Chapter 1

A/N For MM fans, who aren't familiar with classic Doctor Who, there is a LOT of information online about the show, if you're curious. Google "Fourth Doctor" and you should get links to explore. The Fourth Doctor was played by Tom Baker, who played the Doctor the longest (7 years). FYI: He's always called "Doctor" or "The Doctor," never "Doctor Who." I don't know why. With one exception ("The Deadly Assassin"), the Doctor always travels with one or more companions, usually contemporary Humans. There was a companion from the Victorian era, so it's not far-fetched at all for Murdoch to join him and Sarah Jane (the best companion of all). I'll probably do other stories too; after all, Murdoch has to meet Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, the Nestene Consciousness and so many others! This story takes place between "On the Waterfront Part 2" and "Glory Days." William and Julia will be married soon, of course.

"So… all of time and space, everything that ever happened or ever will – where do you want to start?" - The Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith)

Chapter One

Detective William Murdoch, riding his favorite bicycle, calculated trajectory and speed as he approached the intersection near Police Station No. 4, concluding he'd be able to take the corner at a relatively sharp angle which would then propel him the rest of the way to the bike rack. He was startled, as he saw out of the corner of his eye, to see a closet-sized, blue wooden box situated next to the street lamp.

He skidded in the dirt, looked up and read "POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX", then the sign on the left door explaining that the call box could be used to summon the police for assistance. He used the Toronto Constabulary's police call boxes often, so was impressed by this larger, newer version. He surmised it would be large enough to detain criminals, and nodded his head in appreciation.

He dismounted his bicycle, since the station was across the street, and was about to leave when he heard the handle of the blue police box jiggle. A second later a tall man with brown, curly hair and a fedora stuck his head out of the door to survey his surroundings.

Murdoch opened his mouth to ask the man what he was doing in a police call box, but the man simply looked him in the eyes, smiled a huge, toothy grin, then slammed the door shut.

Unable to resist, Murdoch pressed his ear against the door and was startled to hear indistinct voices having a conversation. There was a woman in there, too? Concluding there was something indecent going on in the very small space, he knocked on the door and identified himself.

"Detective William Murdoch of the Toronto Constabulary, open this door!"

The indistinct conversation paused for a moment, and Murdoch heard the woman, in a stage whisper, say "Uh-oh, a real policeman knocking on a fake police box!"

He heard the tall man give an exasperated sigh and say, "Oh, bother, the _police_. I so dislike dealing with law enforcement. I'll see if I can send him on his way."

The man stepped out of the call box, pulling the door shut behind him. "Can I help you, Detective?"

Murdoch looked up into the man's light blue eyes, and noted a sparkle of humor in them. _I'm glad he thinks this is amusing,_ the detective thought.

"Yes, sir, I see you've discovered our new police public call boxes, but I must ask you and your lady friend in there to move along. These aren't here for public amusement."

"I can't do that, I'm afraid. You see, this is our time-space ship. I'm known as the Doctor, from the planet Gallifrey, in the constellation of Kasterborous." He patted the left door. "This lovely blue lady is my TARDIS, which stands for time and relative dimension in space." The Doctor said nothing more, watching Murdoch and awaiting the usual reaction when he spouted information about himself and his TARDIS.

Murdoch stared for a moment, obviously processing what he'd been told. His response, however, was quite unexpected.

"'Time and relative dimension in space'? You're saying this is a time-ship?"

"And space-ship, can't forget that. It can go any place in space and time."

Murdoch looked around, to see if any of his colleagues might be listening in. A couple of constables, outside having a smoke, looked at him for a moment then resumed their conversation. Nobody seemed to notice or care that a new police call box had gone up across the street from the police station.

He looked the TARDIS over again, judging its dimensions. "In there? It's no bigger than a walk-in closet."

The Doctor nodded his head. "In there. Remember, I said 'relative dimension.'" He could almost hear the gears turning in Murdoch's head.

"Oh!" the detective said brightly. "It's bigger on the inside!"

He heard a giggle from inside the TARDIS at the same moment the Doctor exclaimed, "Precisely! In all my travels, I've never encountered a Human who figured it out _before_ going in. Most impressive, Detective Murdoch."

The door that the Doctor was blocking opened, and the head of a lovely brunette stuck out from under the Doctor's arm.

"Hi, I'm Sarah Jane Smith. I'm from 1981." She loved shocking her fellow Humans with that one, when she was in Earth's past.

She and the Doctor chuckled, waiting to see what Murdoch would say to that.

"Seventy-nine years into the future?" he gasped, his eyes widening in wonder. He paused for a moment, then shook himself out of his imaginings. He blushed, recalling how he'd been duped into thinking he'd traveled into the future. He gestured for them to exit the TARDIS. "Never mind that. Come along, you two. You must have read too much of Mr. Wells' work. Step out of our police call box."

"And I thought I was getting through to you, Detective. It really is remarkable that you figured out my TARDIS is bigger on the inside." He stepped out of the way of the door, as did Sarah Jane, and gestured for Murdoch to enter. "Would you like to see for yourself?"

The detective paused a moment, giving the Doctor and Sarah Jane a skeptical glance, and stepped inside, expecting it to be a tight squeeze. When big, white doors flung open and Murdoch stepped into the console room, all he could do was stand in the middle of the floor and stare around him.

"Relative dimension..." he mumbled to himself. His gaze fell on the hexagonal TARDIS console in the center of the stark, white room and his eyes lit up at all of the dials, switches, viewing screens and buttons. His fingers literally itched to touch them. He took a step forward, intent on the console, but the Doctor gently touched his arm to forestall him.

"As much as I appreciate your curiosity, Detective, you mustn't touch. Time Lord technology is millions of years beyond yours."

Murdoch looked at the Doctor and breathlessly asked, "Time Lord? Millions of years?"

The Doctor coughed, embarrassed. "Yes, we're called Time Lords. At least some of us are, from Gallifrey. To be honest, our race has been around for billions of years."

"Billions..." Murdoch whispered to himself.

Sarah Jane stepped forward, sandwiching herself between the Doctor and Murdoch. "It's all right, Detective. It takes a few minutes to begin grasping the whole concept, but everything the Doctor tells you is true. He's an alien who loves to visit Earth more than any other planet. He's helped fight off many alien invasions, in fact."

"He has? Is the TARDIS armed?"

Sarah Jane replied when the Doctor shook his head in denial. "No. You'll find the Doctor _very_ rarely uses violence, and that's only in last-resort self-defense. He doesn't carry any weapons." She looked fondly at the Doctor and grinned. "He prefers to use his prodigious intellect instead!"

Murdoch was impressed, being of a peaceful and kind disposition himself. "I prefer other avenues of resolution as well, but as a police detective, I am sometimes called upon to use the armory."

The Doctor waved his hand impatiently. "Yes, yes, we can catch up on all of this later. We need to get going, Sarah. I've gleaned all of the information I'm going to from this time and place." He and Sarah shared a meaningful gaze. The Doctor turned toward Murdoch, who was once again staring at the console.

"Are you joining us, Detective? You're surely welcomed to travel with us, if you'd like, as long as you like."

"Travel? Where?"

"Where? Anyplace you want, in the entire universe. In the TARDIS, you've got to ask 'when' too. 'When' is also anywhen you want."

Murdoch couldn't quiet his racing thoughts. Anywhere and anywhen in the universe? If he hadn't seen the interior of the TARDIS with his own eyes, he'd doubt all of it, but it was surely a chance he couldn't pass up.

"Um, what about my work? I'm the only detective at this station house. I've been covering for my Inspector, who has only recently returned from...leave, so I would at least like to see him this morning, see how he is getting on."

"We can be back in five minutes," the Doctor pointed out. "That's one benefit of a time machine. We'll note the time, and I can have you back to this spot in five minutes, Earth time, while any amount of time can pass for you."

Murdoch looked around the console room and nodded his head, making his decision. "I'd love to go with you!" He paused a moment, frowning. "I should really tell my fiancee, Dr. Julia Ogden. She would be exceedingly annoyed if she missed this!"

Sarah Jane smiled, her brown eyes sparkling. "Your fiancee is a Doctor? In 1902?"

Murdoch smiled at her, obviously quite proud of his fiancee. "Yes, she is. She is a brilliant pathologist. She is well educated, quite witty at times - although it does take some time to get used to her morgue humor. She is kind, bold, stubborn and quite beautiful."

The Doctor pulled the lever for the door and the white doors opened again. "We certainly can't pass up meeting such a fine lady! Will it take you long to contact her?"

"Not at all - I can call her at the hospital from the station house. She was the City Coroner for a time, and still assists on cases when our current Coroner, Dr. Emily Grace, is overloaded with work."

"Another lady Doctor _and_ the Coroner?" Sarah Jane asked, her eyes widening. "Toronto is much more forward-thinking than I ever suspected! I met a man in 1911 who couldn't believe I was a journalist, yet you mention two female Doctors. Quite impressive."

"1911?" Murdoch repeated, aching to learn more but..."No, I know, you can't tell me future events. I shall return shortly, with Julia."

Murdoch went to his office with a small smile on his face and a spring in his step. He glanced at the Inspector's office and saw him at his desk, apparently catching up on events at Station House No. 4 since his absence. The detective's smile grew and he shut his office door, going to his desk and phone.

"Yes, Dr. Ogden, please," he said to the hospital's receptionist.

A few moments later, she answered, "Dr. Ogden."

"It's me, Julia."

"William, hello! How are you this morning?" Her chipper voice made him smile even more, if that was possible.

"Julia, you need to come to the station house. Now. Something amazing... something truly amazing has come up."

She laughed delightfully, hearing the excitement in his voice. "Well, what is it, William? Is the Inspector settling in all right? Does Emily need help with something?"

"No, no, all that's fine. The Inspector's reviewing station house logs, he'll be all right. I haven't seen Dr. Grace yet this morning, but never mind that. You need to come by, right away."

She paused a moment, regret in her voice. "I can't, William. I've got surgery in two hours! Is it something that can wait? Will I have enough time to get there and back to the hospital?"

Murdoch thought he'd burst, but he contained himself. "Time? We'll have plenty of time - it won't take long to show you. But you really must come here - there is no way I can tell you over the phone, or you'll have me committed."

"I surely can't pass _that_ up then! I'll be there in about ten minutes."

"All right, I'll see you shortly. Meet me in front of the station house."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Detective William Murdoch smiled when he saw Julia's carriage pull up. He shook one leg impatiently as he watched her pay her fare to the cabbie, thanking him as she exited the coach.

Julia went to him, and he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. He was literally shaking with excitement.

She smiled and gave a little chuckle, looking into his sparkling brown eyes. "My goodness, William, whatever this amazing event is, it's surely got you worked up into a dither! What _is _it?"

He pointed to the blue police public call box. "It's this, I need to show you something."

She looked around, wondering why he was pointing out a call box. She'd seen the relatively new boxes around town, although she'd never seen one as large as this.

"_This_ is what you needed to show me? A new, larger police call box? Goodness, William, you've come up with much more fascinating devices than this. This is what was worth my hurrying over here for?"

Julia had to smile when William gave a delighted, little laugh and put his arm over her shoulders, guiding her toward the battered-looking blue box. "It's certainly scrappy looking, for a new call box," she observed.

He put his finger to her lips, "Shhhh, you'll see in a second."

He pushed the right door open, and gestured for her to enter.

"Really, William! Is this quite appropriate, this early in the morning, with your colleagues all around?" She glanced around her and saw a few constables in front of the station house.

"Just go on in. I told you I would have to show you - that I couldn't tell you over the telephone."

"That's true, you did." Julia stepped forward with a smile, thinking she'd just amuse her fiance for the moment then get back to the hospital. When she went through the door, he immediately followed behind her, not wanting to miss her reaction.

She stopped dead in her tracks, with William slightly bumping into her as she gasped and looked around the TARDIS's white console room.

"I-" she gasped. She noticed there was a tall man and a small woman standing at the console. "I - William - "

The tall man smiled kindly at her. "Hello, Dr. Ogden. It's very nice to meet you! Your detective has told us a lot about you. We wanted to invite you to come along with us for a time." He gestured to the brunette standing near him. "This is my friend, Sarah Jane Smith. I'm the Doctor."

"Doctor?" She turned to look at Murdoch. "William? It's - it's bigger on the inside! How? Is this another one of those time-travel gimmicks, how did you - "

Sarah Jane went to her, reaching for Dr. Ogden's hand and gently grasping it. "Dr. Ogden - may I call you Julia? - I know this can be rather disconcerting. We explained to William earlier that we're a time-space ship. To briefly explain before we get underway, the Doctor here is from another star system, a planet called Gallifrey, in the constellation of Kasterborous. I am from the year 1981."

Murdoch turned Julia to face him. "We'll explain some more, but we must get going. You'll be back in time for your surgery, don't worry. The Doctor said we can be gone any length of time, then be back in this spot in five minutes, Earth time."

"That's why you told me time wasn't a problem!"

He smiled at her, appreciating how she adapted to the situation so readily. It was one of the many reasons he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. "Exactly!"

He turned to face the Doctor. "Doctor, you said you'd gleaned all the information you can from this time and place - what did you mean by that?"

The Doctor pointed to a viewing screen. "We had to check out some very odd readings, something that, if it's what I think, I urgently need to explore."

"In Toronto? In 1902? What can be so important to bring you here and now?"

"Have you heard of the Canadian Shield?"

Murdoch frowned, recalling that he'd recently read a geology paper regarding the Canadian Shield. "I've heard of it, yes, I read a paper that was recently published about it, in a scientific journal."

The Doctor grinned. It was apparent this was no ordinary police detective. Julia smiled back at the Doctor, then gestured toward Murdoch. "My fiance is actually quite fascinated by many subjects, Doctor. He's something of an inventor and comes up with some incredible devices." She smiled fondly at the detective.

"I'd love to hear more about that, Dr. Ogden, but we really must get moving to the Shield." He started pushing buttons, pulling switches, concentrating on the console as he paused in his explanation.

The two newcomers looked around when they heard a strange, groaning, whooshing sound. "What is _that_?" Murdoch asked.

Sarah Jane laughed. "It's just the TARDIS - we're now moving through the space-time vortex. She's a very ancient machine, by Earth standards, but you get used to that lovely sound after a while. I know I love hearing it!"

The Doctor flicked one more switch, then turned to the Toronto couple. "There! We're going back quite a long time, so we'll be in the vortex for a bit. Let me briefly explain the Canadian Shield to you. I doubt your scientific paper outlined this information to you - your technology just isn't sufficient to know what your people learned, decades from now."

Julia and William stepped forward, eagerly awaiting to hear more from the Doctor, their eyes wide.

The Doctor and Sarah Jane exchanged delightful glances, then he went into lecture mode.

"The Canadian Shield, sometimes called the Laurentian Plateau, is the oldest part of your North American continent. In fact, it's got the oldest exposed rock on Earth. It is only 500 million years younger than the Earth itself."

William and Julia gasped. "And how old is the Earth, Doctor? I've read many different versions, none of which really gives a satisfactory explanation," Murdoch asked.

The Doctor simply said, "4.54 billion years old."

"It's - it's only half a billion years younger than the planet itself? Here, in Canada?" Julia asked in wonder.

"Yes. Fascinating, isn't it?" the Doctor asked. "The unusual sensor readings we've received appear to emanate from there. It's in the northwestern part of the Canadian Shield, known as the Slave Craton. We're going approximately four billion years back in time." He and Sarah Jane watched William and Julia, to gauge their reactions to this information.

The two simply stared for a moment, and Murdoch said breathlessly, "Four... billion..."

"...years," Julia finished for him, sounding as if she were about to lose her breath too.

"That's right! And, because it _is_ so long ago, we will have to wear our life support devices. The air and surface of the Earth, at that time, are quite insufficient for supporting life. There isn't even any free oxygen in the atmosphere yet. Absolutely no life, not even a single-celled organism."

He glanced at the console and gestured toward one screen. "We'll be rematerializing in a moment. Sarah, can you fetch our life support devices?"

"Sure," she replied, going to one section of the hexagonal console, reaching down to open a small hatch. She withdrew four items, handing one to William and one to Julia.

The detective looked down, startled. "Rings? This is all we'll need?"

"Well, of course! We won't need big, bulky spacesuits like your astronauts did when they landed on the Moon. We're not barbarians!"

"Landed...on the Moon..." they both repeated simultaneously.

Sarah Jane laughed delightfully. "Oh, yes, that's one of those things we can tell you, that you mustn't discuss in your own time. Mankind will land on the Moon for the first time in July, 1969! I was a little girl when it happened; I still remember watching it, with my parents."

"'Our' astronauts? Do Canadians land on the Moon?" Julia asked.

Sarah Jane sighed. "No, but close... Americans make it to the Moon. They and the Soviets were in something of a space-race, and the Americans did it first. In fact, they're the only ones to have done so - so far, at least in my own time."

"'Soviets'?"

"You know them as Russians - for now. Long story, too long to go into right now. But they and the Americans are - will be - what came to be known as 'superpowers'." Sarah Jane replied. It was obvious they wanted to know more, much, much more, but there wasn't time to go into it.

"Can I ask you one thing?" Julia responded.

"Sure, I'll answer, if I can."

"How does Canada fare, by 1981?"

Sarah Jane smiled reassuringly. "Canada is wonderful! It's much more independent now - well, then - but still part of the Commonwealth. Your country still recognizes Her Majesty, the Queen, as its sovereign but you're not ruled from Britain any longer, you're autonomous."

"The Queen?" Murdoch asked. "We only recently lost our Queen Victoria."

"Yes, she was the great-great grandmother of our current queen, Elizabeth the Second."

"Oh, my!" Julia said. "So much has probably happened between the early part of the century and toward the end!"

The Doctor answered before Sarah could. "Oh yes, your 20th century will have an explosion of new technology, new information, new discoveries. And, sadly, two world wars. Rest assured, however, that by Sarah's time, Canada, America, the United Kingdom, many other countries, will be thriving and advancing in their courses. It's one reason why I love visiting Earth so much - Humans are such fascinating creatures!"

"Oh, my!" Julia exclaimed. "Doctor, I suppose I've - one moment, are you just called 'Doctor'?"

Sarah Jane explained, "Yes, he's 'The Doctor' or 'Doctor.' Some Time Lords adopt a title for themselves, some don't. I've never really figured out the criteria Time Lords use, however." She glanced at the Doctor.

"Uh, yes," he said, clearing his throat. "As I told your detective a short time ago, our people, Gallifreyans at least, have been around for billions of years. It would be way above your heads for me to go into Gallifreyan and Time Lord culture. You're both obviously bright and curious people, but alas, there're just some things Humans cannot know about us as yet."

Julia looked disappointed, obviously wanting to satisfy her professional curiosity. To all appearances, the Doctor _looked_ Human!

Sarah said consolingly, "I can tell you two fascinating things about the Doctor and his people, however: they've got two hearts, and they're somewhat telepathic."

The Doctor chuckled at Julia's startled expression. "Yes, I know, you're a pathologist - you probably want to examine me as your detective wanted to examine my TARDIS's console!"

"Well, yes..." she said shyly. "Would that...?"

"Be a problem? Not at all - you're a professional, I completely understand your, and Detective Murdoch's, curiosity. But there'll be time for that later. As I said, we can take all the time we want and get you back to Earth in time for your surgery later 'this morning', as it were."

The conversation was interrupted by the same groaning, wheezing sound of the TARDIS engines.

"There!" exclaimed the Doctor. "We've rematerialized. Now, put on your rings, before we exit. They'll adjust automatically to fit you. Needless to say, you cannot remove them or you'll die instantly. We're lucky, at least, that the surface of the planet has been solidifying, and water has begun to collect into the oceans. The Moon has formed, but it's much, much closer to Earth than it is in your time. If you'd like, we can hang about till after sunset and you can see it. The length of Earth's day is somewhat shorter than in the 20th century - the creation of the Moon, and the result of its tidal forces, slows down Earth's rotation until it has the length of day you know now. Now, if you want to see what we are about to step into..." He gestured to Sarah, who flicked a switch. A panel opened to reveal a viewport. "This is your Canada - this is the rock that will still be exposed in billions of years! A lot to grasp right now, I know. You're both obviously intelligent people, so I'm sure you'll have much to discuss when our adventure is over. Needless to say, you cannot reveal anything to your contemporaries."

"Nobody would believe us anyway, Doctor!" Julia said. "Thank you so much for including me! I would've been quite cross with William if he hadn't fetched me for this."

"That's pretty much what he told us," Sarah laughed.

The Doctor checked once again, to be sure the three Humans' rings were in place, and slipped his own onto his ring finger. "I'll reassure you - you will be completely safe with your life support rings on, 100 per cent. You can touch anything, step on anything, whatever you'd like. If we find lava, for example, you can even dip your hand into it, feel it - it won't harm you, the temperature will be a pleasant room temperature." He smiled, then gestured toward the double white doors. "My TARDIS has a safety shield around her - we can open the doors and step right out, without fear of anything out there getting in here."

He appreciated their anxious, excited expressions and gestured dramatically toward the doors, that opened wide when Sarah Jane pulled the lever with the red ball at the end. "Detective, Doctor... this is Canada, 4 billion years ago. Welcome home!"

A/N: Just a little FYI... when I wrote the original, first chapter of this story, it ended with the Doctor mentioning the Canadian Shield, asking Murdoch if he'd ever heard of it. Not too long after I wrote that, the Canadian Shield was actually mentioned in an episode. Sadly, I didn't jot down which episode it was, but it at least satisfied my curiosity that they did, indeed, know about it in Murdoch's time. Talk about serendipity!


End file.
